Ottawa Neighbourhoods

During 2001, the Ottawa Neighbourhoods merged with the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Municipality to become The City of Ottawa. The suburbs that merged were the cities of Gloucester, Kanata, Nepean and Vanier along with the Townships of Cumberland, Goulbourn, Rideau, Osgoode, West Carleton and the Village of Rockcliffe Park.

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Gloucester

Gloucester is on the easterly edge of Ottawa with a population of over 100,000 spread throughout several residential communities including the old township of Cumberland. A well serviced area, Gloucester has a good number of schools and family facilities (health care, dental etc.).

Most of the communities have good access to the transitway into the City centre and the excellent recreational facilities in the local area. These range from swimming pools, arena's, golf course, lots of parks (including conservation area's with hiking and ski trails) and pathways by the Ottawa river.

There is a wide range of businesses in the area including aerospace, mobile communications and power generation.

Blackburn Hamlet and Orleans are now considered part of Gloucester though there is some "green space" in between. The two communities swell the Gloucester ranks by a further 100,000 residents to make it one of the larger populated areas in the city.

Kanata

Kanata is on the westerly edge of Ottawa along the Transcanada Highway.Originating from the Huron-Iroquois First Nation word for "meeting place" it's a fairly large settlement of over 60,000 residents.

Though amalgamated with the city, Kanata is very much self contained with a diverse and flourishing business community that continues to expand.

Made up of several communities (Beaverbrook, Kanata Lakes, South March, Katimavik-Hazeldean, Glen Cairn, and Bridlewood are some), Kanata has exceptional recreational facilities with a leisure centre, swimming pools, numerous parks, golf courses and driving ranges, pathways into the city centre and close proximity to several beaches on the Ottawa River. All standard Canadian schools are catered for (English, Catholic and French) along with health facilities, churches, several shopping centres - the largest being "The Centrum" and not forgetting the Ottawa Senators home ice the Corel Centre.

The area has a residential growth rate of around 7.5% and has a full range of housing options available that are reasonably priced. Most residential areas are in close proximity to the business parks which have a high density of Technological companies. Not having to commute to work will be an important factor in any city dwellers reasons to move!

Nepean

With a population of over 100,000, Nepean is well situated with plenty of greenspace and good access to the city centre, the airport and the Transcanada Highway. Built mainly during the 1960/1970 era the neighbourhood is made up of numerous and diverse smaller communities from the Rideau River in the East to Kanata in the West. There is a good mix of both urban and rural communities and a broad spectrum of house prices starting from around $120,000 right up to the extremely expensive executive homes in countryside settings.

As a mature area there are all the usual medical facilities and plenty of choice for schools. Post secondary education is also well served with the Algonquin College based in the area and Carleton University not far away in the East End. For the shoppers amongst you, Nepean is known for its abundance of shops - many of which will stay open later than elsewhere in the city.

For recreation the NCC green belt area it is built around provides a plethora of opportunities. There are beaches, golf courses, marina's, hiking and cross country skiing and the huge Nepean Sportsplex that offers most sports and fitness facilities. For the more sedate times the Centrepoint Theatre and Bayshore cinema offer live performances and the latest movies respectively.

Vanier

Originally the village of Eastview where the civil servants lived, Vanier is now a largely Francophone(french speaking) area of over 17,000 residents. Though adjacent to the affluent Rockcliffe Park, Vanier is known as one of the poorer neighbourhoods of Ottawa.

Work is being done to correct the image of Vanier and a series of over 25 murals have been erected around the area showing the past, present and future. Montreal Road is home to the main shopping area for the locals.

The Townships

The townships of Goulbourn, West Carleton, Osgoode and Rideau have all virtually disappeared off the map since the amalgamation. They are all more rural areas on the fringe of the city - Rideau and Osgoode in the South in particular. West Carleton is to the west of Kanata and Goulbourn to the south west of Nepean.

Rockcliffe Park and New Edinburgh

Renowned as one of the most exclusive and expensive area's in Canada, Rockcliffe Park and New Edinburgh are home to the Prime Minister, Governor general, many foreign ambassadors and millionaires. Some recent development has seen an influx of wealthy middle class Canadians and with them some of the more trendy restaurants and shops.

Most homes will start around the $500,000 mark and stretch into the multi-milliondollar mansions. It's very close to Ottawa University and has a couple of schools in the neighbourhood. The exclusive private schools -Ashbury and Elmwood - are here as well. Hemlock lake and Rockcliffe park provide ample recreational opportunities on the doorstep and also has pathways along both the Ottawa and Rideau rivers.